Gov. Jeff Landry does not support making a pay bump for teachers permanent. (Michael Johnson/The Advocate, Pool)
Gov. Jeff Landry doesn’t want to make a public school teacher pay hike from last year permanent, frustrating teachers who have been pushing for the pay bump since early 2023 .
“Of course, our worst fear came through,” said Cynthia Posey, legislative director for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers. “It’s really devastating to a profession where people are paid so much less than others with college degrees.”
Landry’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year includes $198 million for a second round of stipends for teacher and school support staff, instead of permanent salary increases.
It’s the same amount used to give across-the-board stipends of $2,000 for teachers and $1,000 for school support staff last year. But the governor wants to put the money toward rewarding a smaller group of high-performing teachers and those in hard-to-fill positions like science, math and special education slots.